


Gather Strength and Do Your Duty

by Diary



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Allison Argent & Derek Hale Friendship, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - No Hale Fire, Aunt-Niece Relationship, Awkward Conversations, Bechdel Test Pass, Brother-Sister Relationships, Changing Tenses, Disturbing Themes, F/M, Friendship/Love, Gen, Interspecies, Interspecies Friendship, Late Night Conversations, Minor Chris Argent/Victoria Argent, Pack Family, Past Kate Argent/Derek Hale, Romance, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 07:58:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6146936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reposted under a different title. AU. “I want you to find your aunt, Allison,” Laura interjects, “but, Mom, a seventeen-year-old from a hunter family- there are easier ways to declare war.” Complete.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gather Strength and Do Your Duty

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf.

From her place in an old oak tree, Cora Hale watched as a human trekked through the woods with a backpack slung over her shoulder.

The human was teenaged. She had pale, white skin, long, curly, black hair, and large, dark brown eyes.

What made Cora watch her so closely was her slim, athletic build, the penknife in her left jean pocket, and the callous on her fingertips Cora had seen often on the hands of hunters who favour arrows.

When the human came within shooting distance of the house, Cora howled.

The human jumped and looked around. When her heartbeat steadied and she turned back towards the house, her heartbeat leapt again, and her body protested.

Talia Hale, Cora’s mother, gave a small nod towards the tree Cora was in and said to the human, “Hello. I’m Talia Hale. Are you a hunter?”

Shaking her head, the human blinked. “No, ma’am. Um, is Derek Hale around?”

“That’s my son,” Talia informed her. “I don’t think he’s ever mentioned you, but of course, I could be wrong.”

The human fidgeted. “Mrs Hale, I know how this must seem, but- I can’t tell you my name or why I need to talk to your son, but- Would you please just tell me how or where I can find him? I promise- I’m not here to cause trouble.”

Her heart leapt at the last statement.

Smiling, Talia nodded. “Come inside. I’ll get him.”

The human took a deep breath and followed.

Frowning, Cora slid down from the tree.

…

Derek looks up from the text he’s translating and tries to identify a new smell invading the house.

There’s a knock on his door.

“Come in.”

The door opens, and for a brief second, he finds himself excited and wondering why Kate is here. However, his nose quickly realises he’s not smelling her.

“Derek, there’s a little girl here to see you. Well, I say little. She’s about Cora’s age. I think she might have some involvement with hunters.”

When Kate was in Beacon Hills, she talked frequently about her niece, and he remembers the smell on a coat Kate once wore and her telling him it had been a gift from said niece.

Apprehension suddenly fills him.

He doesn’t know why this niece he’s never met would be looking for him, or at least, why she’d show up alone. If Kate wanted her to meet him or his family, Kate would be here with her trusty electric baton in tow.

Moving past his mother, he heads to the kitchen.

When he gets there, a sensation akin to all the air leaving his body goes through him.

He takes in the fine, not-quite delicate features, the strong eyes, and the similar smell, and he knows without a doubt this is Kate’s adored niece.

His mother’s hand on his neck grounds him.

“Hello,” the girl -he remembers her name is Allison- says with uncertainty coating her tone. “You’re Derek Hale?”

He nods.

She visibly steels herself and pulls something out of her right jean pocket, and dread floods his body and mind as he looks at the silver necklace with the wolf emblem in the palm of her hand.

He only saw it off Kate a few times; she wore it with pride.

“My name is Allison Argent. My aunt, Kate- she gave this to me and told me to find you. She said you could help. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but-” Her voice cracks slightly. “I think my mom and dad are hurting her. She was almost panicked, and then, suddenly, she was just- gone, and something is going on with my parents. I know they know something.”

His mother is over in an instant and gently hugging Allison. “It’s okay, dear. Here, sit down and tell Derek everything you need to. Do you want something to eat and drink?”

…

Once Allison has drank some Gatorade and ate two of Uncle Peter’s cookies, she tells him, “My dad sells weapons to law enforcement, and my mom finds a different job whenever we move. Which is a lot,” she adds with a heavy dose of bitterness. “Kate- she hardly ever visits. She and my parents have never really gotten along, and once I got a cell phone and email address, that was essentially the last of her appearances outside of my birthday and sometimes Christmas.”

Nodding, he remembers how angry and sad Kate could sometimes be and how the muttered words of _big brother_ and _Chris_ often accompanied these moods.

“Anyway, we’re living in Chicago right now. She came to visit. I don’t know why, but I didn’t really push, either. Last week, though, something happened, and everything became more strained between her and my parents than I’ve ever seen. Two nights ago, she gave me her necklace and credit card and told me to come here as soon as I could. She wouldn’t let me ask any questions. She made me promise I wouldn’t tell my name to anyone but you.”

She looks at him with suspicious expectation.

Pushing aside his worry and desire to kill Chris and Victoria Argent, he sighs.

Then, he gets up, opens the kitchen door, and goes to stand by the door leading into the living room. “I promise you, no here is going to hurt you. But there’s something you need to know about me.”

He shifts.

…

Allison continues pacing the living room. “Don’t sugarcoat anything,” she orders him, his mother, and Laura. “What’s the most likely explanation?”

“Did your aunt have any bites on her you saw,” Laura inquires. “Did anyone mention anything about her being bitten?”

Shaking her head in frustration, Allison answers, “Not that I can remember.”

She pauses. “If she was bitten by an- alpha?” His mother nods. “If she was bitten by an alpha and didn’t die, what would my parents do?”

He rubs his forehead and tries to decide how Kate would want him to answer.

Kate always made it clear, if she was bitten, she’d kill herself. If she was and decided against it (please, he thinks, I’m sorry if I wasn’t there to have your back, but please, don’t), this doesn’t mean her brother and sister-in-law- if they knew or found out, there’s a good chance they might insist. Whether she could fight them isn’t so important as whether she _would_. Her decision not to kill herself might not extend to risking depriving Allison of her parents.

Everyone is looking at him, and he answers, “I can’t be sure. I don’t know them. But,” he tries to keep his voice neutral, “there is a possibility they would have locked her up or worse.”

To his surprised relief, her stance tightens and her hand slips into her left jean pocket to grasp her pocketknife. “That would be a mistake on their part,” is her cold, determined reply.

Yet, through this resolve is still a scared, unsure girl, and he knows he needs to make sure he doesn’t forget either part of her.

“What do we do,” she repeats.

“You stay here,” he mother quietly suggests. “If your parents contact you, you tell them where you are but refuse to leave. If they find you, we’ll help try to find out what they know.”

“I want you to find your aunt, Allison,” Laura interjects, “but, Mom, a seventeen-year-old from a hunter family- there are easier ways to declare war. And what if they get the police involved?”

He glares, but Allison says, “That’s a good point. Besides that, my aunt might be living on limited time, Ms Hale. Or,” she takes a shaky breath, “she might already be dead. I need answers now.”

His mother reaches out to touch him, but he moves away.

Kate might be- but no, he just can’t really imagine her being anything but defiant and _alive_.

His mom tells them, “I owe Kate Argent a great debt. I will try to help her. But please, understand, the risk doesn’t start and end with me and her. I have my family to look after. If the Argents come here and see that you’re neither a captive or harmed, I have a greater chance of protecting my pack. If any of us go with you,” she says with a sympathetic look at Allison, “and start snooping into your family’s business, they could level very serious accusations against us, and they could gain help from some very ruthless people to hurt us.”

Both Laura and Allison nod.

“What debt,” he asks.

Allison curiously studies his mom.

She shakes her head. “That’s between the two of us. Now, Allison, would you like to stay, or do you need a ride to the bus station and fare?”

“I have money of my own,” Allison says. “If- if you’re willing to let me stay until my parents come, I’d appreciate that, Mrs Hale.”

His mom smiles. “Good. Why don’t you call them? If you want, I’ll talk to them, too. Derek, go make sure the guestroom on the second floor is ready. Laura, call Uncle Peter and explain what’s going on.”

As he heads upstairs, he vaguely hears Allison insisting she can take the couch.

…

At dinner, Cora declares, “Mama, there are more hunters in the woods. What’s if she’s trying to hurt us?”

Before Allison can protest, his mom says, “Be politer to our guest, Cora. As for the hunters, none of you,” she says with a look at him and Cora, “are to go outside without Laura or me. If they wanted to attack, they likely would have done it before now.”

“Unless they don’t want to hurt her.”

“Wouldn’t werewolf hunters be trained to minimise human causalities,” Allison inquires.

Her tone is neutral, but he imagines Kate would be proud of the undertone of offence in her voice.

“Yes,” his mom answers. “Cora,” her eyes flash red, “be polite.”

Cora nods.

“So,” Laura says, “Allison, do you have plans for college? I haven’t decided on a major, yet, but Derek’s Linguistics. Cora still has a year of school left after this one, but she might end up doing something involving music.”

“That’s interesting,” Allison says. “What kind of music do you like?”

Cora glares and takes a bite of her steak.

When she gets through eating, she mutters, “Choral music.”

Allison nods. “Is that strictly a form of classical music, or does it have humans singing?”

Derek’s happy to see Cora brighten. She never says anything to him, but he knows most people don’t understand her love of choral music and many of these people make stupid assumptions and ask idiotic questions.

“Choral music is mainly…”

…

“But I don’t just like Lady Gaga,” Allison assures Cora.

His mother serves dessert.

Cora shrugs. “I really like some of her lyrics. Actually, I found this cool video on Youtube, if you want to come listen to it later. It’s a remix of-”

There’s a knock on the door, and his senses automatically pick up the gun.

“Sheriff Stilinski,” his mom tells them. “Do you remember what to say,” she asks Allison.

All the joy from her face gone, Allison nods.

Giving her a sympathetic smile, his mom goes to answer the door.

…

From his room, he listens to the conversations down below.

_“My Aunt Kate promised me I could live with her, Sheriff Stilinski, until I graduated. I’ve been held back a year because of all the moving my family does. She told me she was friends with the Hales, and I could stay with them until she came to take me to her apartment in Smithville.”_

With a sigh, the sheriff asks to talk to Ms Hale.

_“Kate Argent called you, Ms Hale, and asked you to let her niece stay here?”_

_“Yes, but I was under the impression this was a mutual agreement between all parties, sheriff. Not that I can particularly blame Kate. When she lived here, she always made her disagreement with how her brother and sister-in-law were raising Allison known, and now that I’ve met Allison- The poor child is desperate for stability. I suppose Kate thought she could finally do something to provide it.”_

_There’s another sigh. “I’m sorry for her, Ms Hale, but legally- I have to turn Allison over to her parents.”_

_“I understand. But is there any possible way she could stay here until they arrive? I give you my word I won’t let Allison leave or Kate take her.”_

_“Ms Hale, you know that-”_

_“What I know is that Allison is a sweet child. She doesn’t deserve to be put in a jail cell. She doesn’t qualify for a foster home. And while I have a great deal of respect for you, it wouldn’t be appropriate for you to take her to your house where it’s just you and a teenage boy she’s never met. With Peter and the others gone, Derek’s the only man here, and he mostly keeps to his schoolwork. My daughter, Cora, and Allison have already bonded over music, and my oldest daughter, Laura, will help keep an eye on her.”_

_“I always hate having to put kids in the cells,” the sheriff says in a wary tone. “Ms Hale, I want to trust you. Can I? Will you make sure she doesn’t run or leave with Kate?”_

_“Yes,” his mom answers. “Whatever my opinion on this family drama, I’m not an Argent. I just want to make sure she’s safe and not miserable until Chris and Victoria arrive. Then, I’ll let them and Kate hash things out.”_

…

After Laura drives Cora to school, Allison politely knocks on his door.

He comes out and motions for her to follow him to the living room.

Once they’ve sat down, he waits.

“Kate was your teacher?”

He nods. “She supervised the swimming team.”

“Were-” She pauses, and he watches the expressions flicker across her face. “Were the two of you close?”

He shrugs and tries not to let memories he long since buried resurface. “She was nice to me. Or as nice as she’s capable of being. I was a shy, naïve kid, and she was- she knew what I was. I knew what she was. Werewolves and a werewolf hunter in such a small town, it’s part of the reason she and my family had something of an understanding.”

“Did you like her,” Allison blurts out. At his look, she fidgets. “I’m sorry if that’s inappropriate. It’s just- You’re worried about her. You look like how I feel. But your mom has said nice things about her, Cora and Laura never met her and think she’s not worth the risk, and you haven’t said anything. You haven’t said anything, but she told me specifically to go to you.”

“I’m worried about her,” he agrees. Leaning back, he looks over her. “She and I didn’t agree on most things, and she was as nice as she could be to a shy, naïve kid, but most would say that usually wasn’t very nice. Through all this, though, I’ve always respected your aunt, Allison, and I don’t have any choice but to believe, whatever she might be going through, she is alive, and she will be strong enough to not let herself be broken.”

She smiles softly at him.

…

Two days after Allison arrives, the Argents stand on the porch stiffly with armed hunters standing behind them. Victoria holds a sheathed knife in her hands, and Chris keeps his hand on his holstered gun.

“We’re here for our daughter,” he crisply states.

“Of course,” his mom answers. “Allison, sweet one, it’s time to come down!” Then, she pleasantly asks, “Would any of you like to come in?”

Cora growls loudly when she and Allison trot downstairs.

He’s torn between exasperation at how every hunter readies their steadied weapons and amused fondness at the sight of his sister and Allison. They’re both dressed in pyjamas with their hair in braids and sparkly nail polish on their nails he doubts either would normally wear. Before Laura left, she insisted on using them as guineas pigs for when she has a girls night with some college friends of hers.

Just as he starts to focus on how the Argents are taking the sight of their daughter being so close to a werewolf, there’s a whistling sound, and suddenly, his mother is lowering Victoria Argent to the ground.

As Chris is ordering the others to aim towards the woods and not the Hales, Derek is vaguely aware of his mother’s voice saying, “It’s a tranquiliser dart. Cora, take Mrs Argent and Allison to the basement. Protect them.”

“No!”

Chris slaps Cora’s hand away from his wife and tries to grab Allison.

“Have either of us ever known werewolves to use darts,” his mother calmly demands. “Cora told me shortly after Allison’s arrival there were hunters in the woods. I thought they were yours. They might be a rival faction. I haven’t harmed your daughter. Let me help you protect them until we figure out what’s going on.”

While Cora slings Victoria over her shoulder and grabs a protesting Allison’s wrist, he comes back into focus when his mother’s warm hand wraps around his neck.

“Call Laura and Peter, sweetheart, and then, make sure no gets to the basement.”

“I understand.”

She kisses his forehead and follows Chris and the others.

The door locks behind her.

He calls Laura while securing the other doors and windows.

_Hi, this is Laura Hale! Sorry I missed your call. Please, leave a message at the tone, and assuming you aren’t a telemarketer, I’ll get back to you soon.”_

“We’re under attack. Go to Peter as soon as you can.”

He hangs up and dials Peter’s number.

The window he just locked clicks open, and Kate’s scent fills his nose.

He disconnects the phone, turns, and finds himself being looked over with a grin. “Hey, sweetie. Looking very good,” she says with a lick of her lips.

“Did you shoot your sister-in-law?”

Smirking, she reaches over and runs her finger down his chest.

He forces himself to stay still and ignore the feelings jumbling inside him.

“You sound a little too surprised for my liking. Don’t you know me at all, Derek?”

He sighs. “They’re in the basement. Take your niece, but leave my sister and your sister-in-law alone.”

“Got it,” she agrees. As he follows her, she glances back and continues, “I’m insulted by the suspicious look on your face, sweetheart. I never hurt you when you were a kid, did I? And if you want Victoria, fine with me. Kill her, protect her, bite her, whatever. I only care about my blood.”

The fact he feels the need to clarify doesn’t sit well with him. “I have orders to protect her.”

She shrugs and withdraws a lock picking kit when they get to the basement door.

“You’re alright,” he continues. “You’re still human. I thought you might have-” He can’t finish.

“Sorry for the drama,” she carelessly replies. “It’ll become clear soon.”

He grabs her before she goes down. “Let me go first. Talk to Cora.”

She nods.

…

In the basement, they find Cora and Allison.

“I can help,” Allison insists with a glower.

Cora stands between her and the door. “You don’t have any training. And if your mom comes back to consciousness before this is over, what do you think she’ll do to me with no witnesses?”

“My mom wouldn’t-”

“Cora, let her go,” he interrupts.

They both look over, and Allison squeals and runs to Kate.

“Hey, baby girl,” Kate greets. “You good?”

Pulling back, Allison tries to examine her with her hands. “Kate, what in the hell-”

“Allison,” Kate says in a tone of voice he’s only heard her use once or twice. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry for all this, but right now, I really need you to trust me. Where’s your necklace?”

“In Cora’s room.”

“We need to get it, and then, we need to go outside.”

“Okay,” Allison agrees.

As they leave, he reaches out to stop Cora and presses the phone into her hand. “Call Peter. Laura might call. Protect Argent. I’m sorry. I- I have to make sure they’re safe.”

She nods and goes to sit down to on the floor next to the couch the unconsciousness Victoria is lying on.

…

Out in the woods, he follows Kate and Allison and tries to isolate his mother’s scent.

Gasping, he grabs Kate’s arm.

She and Allison both stop.

“There’s a werewolf,” he whispers. “It’s not one of ours.”

Kate shrugs, produces a pair of Chinese ring daggers and an electric baton from her pocket, and hands the latter to Allison. “Wish you had your bow and arrow, or at least, a proper stun gun, sweetheart, but this’ll have to do. Anyone with claws and fangs comes near you, you hit them until they stop moving. No sentimentality. It won’t kill them, but it might save your life. Got it?”

“Got it,” is Allison’s breathless, adrenaline, uncertainty filled agreement.

“Do you have gloves,” he asks Kate.

“No.”

Reaching over, he stops her again. He rips strips off from the bottom of his jeans and quickly wraps them around her hands.

She winks and quips, “Always so considerate about wrapping up.”

He doesn’t like how fast Allison seems to be processing the statement and urges, “Let’s keep moving.”

…

When they come across Chris, the hunters, and his mom, he senses the other werewolf and tries to pinpoint which it is and if his mom knows.

“Allison,” Kate whispers, “I need you to be brave.” Then, her eyes pierce his. He’d mostly forgotten how startling her shade of hazel is.  “Protect her.”

He nods.

With the Chinese ring daggers aimed, Kate strides over to the crowd.

He and Allison follow.

When Kate comes into sight, Chris Argent swallows heavily. “Kate, please-”

Through his shock, he manages to grab Allison when Kate’s hands move with cold precision and slash her brother’s face.

Chris Argent stumbles, but only a few drops of blood fall to the ground before the gashes heal and he looks back with a werewolf face and blue eyes a different shade from his usual.

Kate kicks him to the ground and tosses a silver razor blade down in front of him. “Allison,” she calls, “come here.”

He debates whether he should let go of the struggling teenager until his mother’s red eyes catch his. She gives him a sad nod, and he lets go.

Shaking, Allison walks over. “Daddy? Aunt Kate?”

Slowly, most of the hunters disperse with only a few standing back and watching silently.

Kate puts a hand on Allison’s shoulder, but her eyes don’t leave Chris. “Sorry to ruin whatever plans you and Victoria had. But now, everyone here knows. Hunters and werewolves both. Your daughter and the Hales.”

She puts the Chinese ring daggers up, confiscates the baton, and puts a hand under Allison’s chin. “Watch, Allison. Do not close your eyes.”

“Kate!”

Scoffing, she looks back down. “Victoria isn’t here. I am. And she will watch, Chris. It’ll make her stronger.”

“Please,” he begs. “Kate, please, I’m begging you.”

“And I don’t care,” is her blunt response. “Allison, if a hunter is turned, the code we live by says they have to kill themselves. So, stop your crying and watch as your father does his duty.”

“No! Dad wouldn’t-”

Two hunters grabbing her arms and holding her in place cut off her protests.

He never understood how Peter could view Kate with the distrust and revilement he does, but as he watches her grab her crying, struggling niece’s head, force it in Chris’s direction, and stomps on her foot when Allison tries to close her eyes, he suddenly-

“Allison, baby-” Chris tries to get up.

Kate kicks him back down. “Do what Mommy did to us, big brother. Show her the price of not being careful and strong enough.”

Allison continues protesting, and Chris looks at Kate with searching eyes. “Kate?”

Nothing in Kate’s stance changes. “Do it, Chris.”

“Allison, sweetheart, look at me,” he gently urges.

Through her tears, Allison does. “Dad, please. Please, tell me you aren’t- You can’t!”

“I never wanted- Your mother and I have always wanted you to be safe and happy. We didn’t want you part of this world.”

“Yeah, and I’m the bitch who brought her into it,” Kate snaps. She briefly touches the necklace. “You think it’s better she just think her daddy had an accident? Or some intruder took his life? Whatever lame excuse you were going to feed her and the police? No. Allison, you can hate me, if you want. You can hate him and your mom and all hunters. But it was a werewolf who bit him. If you want, I’ll help you find this werewolf.”

“To hell you will,” Chris practically roars and finds himself lying on his back as the baton hits his chin.

When he sits back up, Kate continues, “Do it, Chris. Pick it up.”

Derek discovers he hates Chris Argent more than he ever realised when, despite Allison’s protests and even more violent struggles, Chris reaches over and picks up the blade.

“Watch, Allison,” Kate orders.

He looks at his mom and desperately wishes she’d do something other than sadly watching the scene, but though sad, her eyes are red and firm in their insistence he stay, too.

Chris opens the blade, but every time he looks down, he looks back up at Allison.

Finally, he sighs, and Derek suddenly feels a swell of hope.

Chris sets the blade down, pushes it away, and looks up at Kate. “No.”

She cocks her head and poises the baton. “Think long and hard about your next move, Christopher Argent. If you get back up, you have to stay up. Against  the disapproval of every respectable hunter, against the contempt of different werewolves, against the danger that you’ll be bringing to Allison, and even against the possibility you and Victoria will be over. You can’t decide later on that you’re going to do this when Allison isn’t around. I won’t let you.”

“If you can’t handle all that,” she continues, “then, do your duty.”

“I am.” He stands up.

The hunters immediately let go and move away.

Reaching for his daughter, he promises, “Allison, baby, it’s okay.”

Kate turns away and motions to the remaining hunters to follow her.

They leave.

…

When he, his mom, Chris, and Allison get back to the house and go down to the basement, they find Cora sitting on Victoria and holding Victoria’s arms and legs in such a way they’ll break if Victoria makes a wrong move.

“Let her go, sweet one,” his mom says.

Cora complies, and Victoria springs to her feet and looks closely at Chris and Allison.

Chris shakes his head slightly.

Sighing, Victoria reaches out to hug them both.

“Would you three like to stay for lunch and, perhaps, dinner,” his mom inquires.

…

Once Allison and Cora are tucked away in Cora’s room and the Argents are talking to his mom in her study, Derek leaves a note on the fridge and goes into town.

When Kate comes out from her shower to find him sitting in her hotel room, she grins. “Hey, sweetie. How’s Allison doing?”

“Better. My mother’s going to help Chris learn how to live as a werewolf. Peter will come back soon. Laura’s probably going to stay at college until next weekend.”

“I’ll be gone before he gets here,” she says with her nose wrinkled.

“You didn’t want Chris to die.”

Shrugging, she sits down on the bed and motions for him to move to it from the chair. “I didn’t want Allison to grieve for the wrong thing. Whatever I thought of her being kept in the dark about the supernatural, I respected their right to make the decision.”

He can’t help but scoff.

Grinning slightly, she amends, “I reluctantly did what I was told and mostly minded my own business. But her dad dying- she needed to know why he was and who pulled the metaphorical trigger.”

“You never told me about your mother.”

She gives him a look. “Didn’t see how it was your business. But yeah, when I was about three years old, she came home with a bite on her shoulder. Chris wasn’t there, and my dad tried putting me in front of the TV with some cookies and milk. I snuck into their bedroom, and I watched as he helped her cut open a vein.”

Kate misses her father every day, and she probably does her mother, too. She might appreciate him giving his unsolicited opinion on most things, but he has a feeling revealing how he thinks she deserved so much better and how part of him is glad they’re dead would end up with him in severe, long-lasting pain.

She’s ran on broken legs to stop a dangerous omega, jumped in freezing water to catch a deadly alpha, and insisted on stitching herself up without painkillers or letting him take her pain. She’ll fight with all she has to live, so long as she’s human.

She’s cynical, impatient, and even though she knows how desirable she is, she still seemed genuinely surprised when she finally realised he could hardly think of anything but her and would have given almost anything to be allowed to touch her (she called it a crush, and he was smart enough not to even hint at the concept of love).

Sometimes, he worries, for all her enjoyment of life, she’ll never truly be happy, and he wonders if her parents would care about this, if they’d just be proud of her skills and determination, or worst of all, if they’d be like her brother and acknowledge all she is and constantly make her feel as if there’s something ultimately flawed about her.

“What if Chris had decided to kill himself?”

“Then, I would have made her watch,” is her sad response. “I don’t want to turn her into me, sweetie, but if she’s not going to have her parents to protect her, she needs to be strong enough to protect herself. That means knowing what’s out there and how dangerous it really is.”

Shrugging, she continues, “I know I would have, but then, I don’t have a beautiful, brilliant daughter who loves with her whole heart to consider.”

Part of him wonders, _What about your mother? She had that. Would she have changed her mind if she’d known you were watching?_

She leans over and kisses him, and for just a moment, he’s back to eighteen and so happy.

He’d been a virgin and inexperienced at even kissing, but she’d never made him feel less. It had been so good for him, and the fact he could tell she was genuinely enjoying herself made it even better.

Then, the moment’s gone, and he pulls away. “No.”

It’d not only be unfair to accuse Kate of getting his hopes up, it’d also be potentially dangerous. She was always honest and matter-of-fact about how short her involvement with him would be.

Somehow, though, some part of him had let himself get his hopes up, and when she’d breezed out of town-

It’d taken him a long time to get through the day without the pain of missing her, and it’d taken even longer for the dull ache to fade and the cloudy mood he was perpetually in to dissipate.

If he leaves now, her scent and kiss is going to haunt his dreams, but it won’t be as bad as the last time.

She studies him with her piercing eyes but simply shrugs. “Do you mind if I ask if you’re seeing someone?”

“I’m not,” he answers. He briefly considers trying to explain but decides against it. If Kate feels he has an obligation to, she’ll make it clear. In the past, she told him her thoughts about people feeling compelled to explain things they’d rather not when it wasn’t anyone else’s business. “Take care of yourself, Kate.”

“You, too, sweetheart.”

…

When he gets home, he finds Allison sitting in the living room.

“If I’d known you were going to see her, I would have asked you to take this.” She nods towards the coffee table.

The necklace lays on it.

Sitting down, he picks it up. “I’m not going to defend what she did today. When she came here, she said, ‘I never hurt you when you were a kid, did I?’”

“She did, didn’t she,” is Allison’s soft response. 

He looks down at the necklace. “She saved my life. And after she broke into a window and admitted to shooting your mother, I was still willing to let her take you without question. In the end, no matter how much pain she causes in her wake, your aunt saves lives, Allison. This necklace wasn’t about hunting werewolves to her. It was about saving lives.”

She shudders.

He reaches over and puts the necklace on her. “Whether you become a hunter or not, she trusts you to do the right thing when faced with hard choices.”

Nodding, she wipes her eyes. “You’re still in love with her, aren’t you?”

Looking away, he answers, “When I was sixteen, she saved my life. We were friends, in a way. When I was eighteen, we slept together for a while. That’s all I can really tell you about your aunt and me.”

“Well,” she says with a bitter chuckle, “at least, I can say my aunt isn’t guilty of statutory rape.”

She gets up and heads upstairs.

…

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

Kate doesn’t look up from her packing. “You want to kill my brother? Leave him? Throw him in some werewolf prison? Go ahead. But you’ve seen how the Hales look at Allison. Try to take her, and you’ll regret it.”

Finishing, she looks over and smiles at Victoria’s scowl.

“You should have talked to us.”

“Boring,” is Kate’s tart reply. “Shoulda done this, shouldn’t’a done that. God, no wonder everyone welcomed you so openly into the family. You adopted the party line perfectly.”

Victoria tilts her head. “I know you slept with Derek Hale when he was rather young.”

Kate laughs. “And that’s the threat you come here with? You think Talia didn’t know? You think Beacon Hills’ boys and girls in blue are going to care? Or worse, do you think I care if other hunters and werewolves know? I don’t. ‘Here’s Kate Agent, the slut who spread her legs for a werewolf. I’ll be stupid enough to get ideas about her. I’ll leave her high and dry when she needs backup, or I’ll just refuse to help her at all.’ Cliché, I know, but: Bring it on.”

Smiling tightly, Victoria says, “The idea I would fall in love with a werewolf is ridiculous. Werewolves are disgusting, dangerous creatures. They deserve to be monitored until they finally show their true colours and try to hurt people.”

When Kate shrugs, Victoria continues, “The idea I would fall in love with a werewolf came to realisation this afternoon when Chris walked down into the Hale basement.”

“You still love Chris. Good for you and him. I mean that sincerely. Although, why you felt the need to come here and tell me that-” She lets the sentence hang.

“It’s going to be hard. But it’s also going to make me stronger.”

“Again,” Kate irritably says, “good for you.”

“Do you honestly think staying away from Derek is going to make you stronger?”

Kate laughs and gives Victoria a puzzled, searching look. “What, do you think I’m in love with him or something? Come on, Victoria. You know how much sex big brother had before he settled down with you. Everyone knows I have more sex than they approve of.”

“What I know,” Victoria replies, “is you love Allison more than you love anyone. And even though we’ve had vastly different ideas about what was best for her in the past, I know you wouldn’t have sent her into a house of werewolves unless you believed without reservation it was safe to do so. Those hunters you sent were backup for _you_. I know that when you faced a situation you weren’t sure you could handle involving Chris and Allison, you specifically sent her to one person. In a sense, you turned to him. And finally, I know that, when you left Beacon Hills years ago, you made a quip about, ‘Better leave before I end up completely destroying some sweet little kid who’s too stupid to see a bad thing when it’s standing right in front of him.’

“I always wondered at that,” Victoria continues, “but quips, off-colour jokes, and scathing sarcasm is par the course for you.”

“I left Beacon Hills to focus on hunting in places that needed me. The quip was just me being me,” Kate replies.

“Isn’t it interesting, then, that in all these words, a denial of loving him hasn’t made an appearance?”

“I like Derek,” she answers. “He was a sweet kid, and now, he’s a good man. Hell, after seeing how well he’s grown into himself, I wouldn’t object to another session between the sheets. But I’ll say this here and now, and I’d even put my hand on The Bible, if it weren’t for the fact we both know how pointless a gesture would be from me: I’m not in love with Derek Hale.”

“Hm,” Victoria responds. “I hope Allison will come to me and not you for boy advice. Be strong, Kate.”

She leaves.

Kate scoffs. “I’m stronger than any of you,” she mutters.


End file.
